N-O grapplers place third at Battle for the Belt outdoor tournament

Contributed Photo – Three mats were in action on the Barker High football field Saturday for the inaugural Battle For The Belt outdoor summer wrestling tournament.

Going 3-2 on the day, the Niagara-Orleans League team placed third at the inaugural Battle for the Belt outdoor wrestling tournament held Saturday on the Barker High football field.

The Niagara Frontier League team took top honors with a 5-0 record as the Falconer/Southern Tier squad placed second at 4-1.

Three mats were used on the football field for each of the five rounds of the tournament.

“It was a great day for outdoor wrestling,” said Barker/Roy-Hart wrestling Coach Keith Jones who organized the event. “There was some great competition and we’re hoping to make it an annual event.”

The other competing squads included Clarence and two from Williamsville/Tonawanda/Amherst.

Contributed Photo – Six teams from around Western New York competed in the Battle for the Belt.

The N-O team included Cade Aina (106 lbs.) and Aaron Burnside (152) from Albion, Tom Fisher (113) from Akron, Joe Velez (132) from Medina, Dylan Thompson-Cox (220) from Wilson, Julian Nixon (120), Cyrus Simmons (160) and Jake Kubala (189) from Newfane along with Brent Bachman (126), AJ Schafer (138), Cameron Swick (145) and DJ Gardner (170) all from Barker/Roy-Hart.

“All of our N-O schools were represented on the team which was great,” said Jones who noted that the winning Niagara Frontier League team received a championship belt which they will bring back to defend next summer.